Chapter Twenty-Five

It was all so beautiful.

Claire had appreciated the beauty of the land surrounding the Pattersons’ cabin during her first visit with Luke over six weeks ago. Even then, she’d been able to recognize how special a place it was. Peaceful and perfect, like the modern world hadn’t quite made its way there yet.

Now? Without the threat of imminent death hanging over her head?

It might as well have been heaven.

Especially considering who was there with her.

“Fishing is actually a lot more fun than I ever imagined it would be.” Claire cast off, waiting for the hook and fly to hit the water and send ripples out over the otherwise still lake. She reeled her line in just a little, knowing now that the motion would attract any nearby fish.

Luke had taught her a lot.

He smiled with a wry grin, careful to keep his voice soft to avoid scaring away the fish. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re a natural.”

“I have a good teacher.” And yes, she was slightly better at it than he was, which helped her enjoyment. But she wasn’t about to say that out loud.

She loved him and knew he loved her and would forgive a lot of things, but there were times when a girl knew not to tread on a man’s ego.

It had been a magical few days together for sure, and exactly what they both needed now that the hectic mess of clearing her name was over. Now it was nothing more than a memory.

Though it was still a fresh memory, she knew it would fade with time.

And Luke would help. Just the way he always did.

The information that she’d sent out to the police department had been more than enough to put Vance Ballard away for the rest of his life, along with the man who’d murdered Julia in such cold-blooded fashion.

There was plenty of additional evidence against Ballard’s murderous bodyguard and the other one along with him. Julia’s murder was only the tip of an iceberg that ran wide and deep. It was a comfort to know those men would get what they deserved. Even if it wouldn’t bring back any of the lives they’d taken.

She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, the way she always did whenever the still-fresh reality threatened to close in on her. How close she’d come to losing her life. Or, worse, to losing everything that had ever truly mattered.

Luke hadn’t been lying that day, describing how she would suffer if he’d died because of her.

But he hadn’t.

She took another deep breath and reminded herself it was safe to be happy. Safe to feel secure. Safe to feel loved.

The early-morning sun framed Luke’s profile. He took her breath away, even after weeks of seeing him constantly. Would it always be like that?

“What are you thinking about?” He glanced her way with another little smile before reeling his line in just a bit to attract attention.

“Hmm? How did you know I was thinking about anything?”

“I know you, Kitten. That mind of yours never stops working.” He smiled wider. “And I could feel you staring at me.”

“Was I staring?”

“It sure felt that way.”

She laughed at herself. “I guess you’re nice to stare at.”

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Anyway,” she continued, turning back to the water, “I was thinking about how grateful I am to have the cabin to ourselves for a little while. I know I’ve said it before, but your parents are the best.”

“They know quality when they see it.” He winked.

“Obviously, since they took to you the way they did.”

“You’re in a sweet-talking mood today. Not that I mind, of course.”

“I guess I’m feeling generous since I’ve already caught three fish, and you’ve caught... How many again?”

“Shush, woman. I should’ve known you would lord it over me.”

She eventually stopped giggling. “Really. I meant what I said. You, your brothers... You’re a special group. I never could’ve imagined them welcoming me the way they have.” She didn’t bother saying anything about what they’d done to ensure her safety. By then, they’d rehashed the details of that day at the Passage Digital office and the days leading up to it more than enough.

“They know quality when they see it, too.”

“It’s easy for you to brush it off—not that you’re not taking me seriously or anything. I know you are. But you’ve known what it means to be part of a family a lot longer than I have. It’s still new to me.”

He kept his gaze trained on the water, speaking slowly. “You have all the time in the world to get used to it...if that’s what you want.”

If that was what she wanted? She wanted nothing more in the entire world than to be with Luke for the rest of her life. Longer than that, if possible. Forever.

But she wouldn’t push for anything more than this. For now, this heavenly trip was more than enough. Focusing on just the two of them and being happy.

This time, she felt Luke’s gaze on her instead of the other way around. “Where did you go?”

“You mean, other than right here? On the lake with you?”

He wasn’t buying it. “Yes. Other than right here. You went someplace else.”

Darn him for being so observant. “It’ll take me some time to get used to living like a regular person, I think. I’ve spent so much of my life closed off from others. I didn’t want to trust. I didn’t want to run the risk of getting hurt. I figured it was easier on my own.” She shrugged. “You know all this.”

“I do. And I understand. It’s not like I adjusted right away to knowing I had a family around me, either. It took time to get used to that new mindset.” He offered a soft chuckle. “More than six weeks. In case you happen to find that relevant.”

“Gee. Why would that matter?” They laughed together as softly as they could for the sake of the fish.

“So long as you’re happy, Kitten. That’s all I want.”

And she knew it, and she loved him more than ever for it. Somebody in the world wanted her happiness above all else—her safety and well-being, her fulfillment.

The fact that this person happened to be Luke was the icing on the cake.

“I’m happy right now. I’m happy with you.” She leaned over to kiss him, but the kiss was cut short by a tug on her line.

“Again?” Luke laughed, grabbing the net in case she needed help. She was much better at reeling her catch than she was at first, so there was no need for him to splash around in the water for her sake.

“What can I say?” She held up a sizable, shining, wriggling trout with a proud smile. There was no helping it.

“Are you putting something special on the hook? Are you bribing these fish?”

She laughed as he took the hook from the trout’s mouth. That was something she still couldn’t bring herself to do, even averting her eyes when he did it. Catching and cleaning and eating them was one thing.

There were limits, though.

“Yeah, I’m bribing them in some weird way so they’ll bite. You figured out my trick.”

“Are you sure you aren’t, though?”

“What?” She looked his way when curiosity won out over squeamishness. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s...something...else on the hook.” Luke plopped the fish into the basket between them, then bent to rinse something off in the water.

“What is it? I didn’t put anything special on there... You’re right here with me, you see what I’m doing.” Curious, she leaned over his shoulder.

He stood and turned to her.

And held out a ring.

She dropped her pole in favor of crossing her hands over her chest, where her heart had suddenly started pounding. “What...? How...? What...?”

Luke offered the sweetest smile. “Should I bother answering those questions?”

She couldn’t answer. Somebody had stolen her words. All Claire could do was shake her head while her eyes remained glued to the ring. White gold. Diamond solitaire. Sparkling in the sunlight.

He lowered himself to one knee. “I didn’t intend to do this here and now, but with the direction the conversation took, it seemed like a natural time to ask you to marry me.”

She gulped. “Oh. My gosh.”

“I’ll take your reaction as surprise and not horror.”

“Oh, no! Not horror. Definitely surprise.” Her head felt like it was about to fall right off, she was so surprised.

“You didn’t know I was planning to propose?”

“I hoped...” she admitted, trembling, “but I didn’t know. I didn’t want to assume anything.”

“Which is one reason of many for me to ask you to marry me, Claire Wallace.” There was so much love shining on his face, looking up at her the way he was, holding out the ring. “You’ve been the one for me all our lives. The one person I could never forget. You’ve always been part of my soul.”

Her breath caught and her eyes filled with tears.

“You always will be,” he murmured. “And I fully intend to spend the rest of my life reminding you of how lovable you are. Because you are. You’re worthy of adoration and support and protection and everything I could ever offer. More than that, but I’m nothing special. I’m not a superhero, I swear. Though I’ll do everything in my power to be that for you. I’ll be anything and everything you need.”

She shook her head as tears spilled over. “You’re already everything I need and more than I ever dreamed I’d have. I don’t think I could be happier than I am right now at this moment.”

“Is that a yes?”

She giggled and nodded. “It’s an absolute yes.”

There was no time to say anything else before he was on his feet again and she was in his arms. He kissed her, filling her heart with so much love. And joy. And hope.

Finally, she had hope for her future.

And thanks to Luke, she had the courage to dream.

“I love you.” He touched his forehead to hers while his arms locked tight around her, holding her close enough that she could feel his heart pound in time with hers. “Thank you for saying yes.”

“I love you, too. Thank you for asking.” She opened her eyes. “Wait. Where did the ring come from?”

“My pocket. Where do you think?” He laughed at himself. “I pulled it out when you were looking away. Come on, you have to give me points for originality.”

“Oh, you definitely won some points.”

“Speaking of which...” He took her left hand in his and slipped the cool band over her finger. It was a perfect fit.

Just like the two of them.

“There goes the rest of my day.” Claire held out her hand, moving her finger, admiring the diamond’s sparkle. “I don’t think I’ll be able to take my eyes off this ring.”

“Wow. I killed two birds with one stone, then. No pun intended.”

“What do you mean?”

He offered a wink, nodding to the poles lying on the ground. “If you’re distracted, I might actually be able to catch more fish than you.”

“Something tells me it’ll take more than a sparkling diamond for you to manage that, Luke Patterson.”

Still, she was willing to give him this one since he’d given her so much more. A lifetime’s worth of more.

And they had only just begun.